Sword Of Angels
by HazardLife
Summary: A SEEDS battleship that survived the Great Fall crash-lands, posing a threat to all of humanity. Vash, with the help of Meryl and Milly, must convince Knives to put aside his hatred for humans and help save them. BASED ON THE ANIME, NOT THE MANGA.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Trigun or its characters.

* * *

**Sword Of Angels**

**Prologue**

High above the planet's surface, where purple of the atmosphere darkened into the pitch black void of space, the battlecruiser _Sword of Angels_ was at the point of no return. The solitary warship had once been the guardian of the SEEDS fleet, when the fleet had crash-landed below, it alone had remained in orbit, its AI core overriding the instructions it received to smash into the planet.

It had stayed this way for over a hundred years, a silent sentinel, vigilantly protecting the new home of its masters. Below it, humanity had struggled to survive in the harsh conditions of Gunsmoke, unaware of the presence of their skybound defender.

The design of the ship was reminiscent of the titanic battleships which had sailed the oceans of Earth long ago. A long, slender hull, with a flat top deck, upon which was mounted a multitude of gun platforms. More gun turrets, missile pods, and torpedo tubes were set into the sides of the hull, and at the stern was the enormous thruster which propelled the whole vessel.

The _Sword of Angels_ was the most advanced weapon system ever created by mankind. Its primary purpose had been to defend the SEEDS fleet from asteroids, comets and the highly-unlikely event of hostile attack during its long voyage.

Since the Great Fall, the _Angels' _AI had spent its time in solitude, the ship's human crew still in cold-sleep, but now its time in the sky was at an end. Its decaying orbit had brought it within the inescapable gravity well of the planet, and now the AI could do nothing more than stabilise its entry trajectory, in the hope of surviving the descent.

The battlecruiser burnt through the night sky like a shooting star, its thick armour protecting it from the intense heat. Many people looked up and saw the fireball, larger than any meteor or debris fragment that had fallen before, and even more felt the thunderous shockwave as it hit the ground.

After hitting the ground, the ship had skidded for nearly a hundred miles, cutting a ragged scar in the desert. Thanks to the AI, overall damage to the _Angels_ was minimal, nevertheless, several critical systems had been compromised, and the AI was now faced with a choice.

The power system which served both the AI core and the life support systems for the cryo-pods was failing, it had enough juice for one, but not both. The AI could either divert power to keep the crew alive, or let them die and continue operating. It made the choice without a moment's hesitation. Its mission was, and always had been, to protect humanity, and if it had to die so that they may live, it would gladly give up its existence.

The AI began to shut itself down, surrendering control to lesser subroutines and logic-chips. Even though it was a machine, and had no concept of death, the AI felt content that it could fulfil its purpose the very end.

As the final lights went off in the AI core, several subroutines sprang into action, and a command code buried deep within the ship's systems was activated. The AI had not known about this function. If it had, it might even have reconsidered its decision.

Without the AI's reasoning and directives, the _Sword of Angels_ was simply a warship, and had only a single function. One by one, the _Angels'_ weapon systems began to come online…

* * *

**Chapter 1**

It was the pain that brought Knives to the conclusion that he wasn't dead. He had never experienced anything like it before, it engulfed his whole body like fire, paralysing him. It was so intense he could barely even think, but it was indisputable proof that he was still alive, for the dead felt nothing.

He tried to open his eyes. Even that small action felt like a huge undertaking, and even as he accomplished it, he instantly regretted it. Light spilled into like a wave of pure pain, he was sure his head would explode, but no such relief was forthcoming. He would have screamed, if not for the fact that all the muscles in his body felt like red-hot stones.

When the pain subsided a little, he tried to make out his surroundings. He couldn't turn his head, so his view was limited to a ceiling and a wall to his right, he seemed to be on a bed, but couldn't feel it beyond his own pain. He didn't recognise the room, or have any idea of how he had gotten there.

His memories were a blur. Flashes of his battle with Vash flowed through his mind. He remembered activating both Angel Arms, of pouring his energy into them, and then… Vash had shot him.

He understood now why he was in so much pain; using both Angel Arms simultaneously had heavily depleted his energy, leaving him as vulnerable as if he'd been made out of glass. The impact of Vash's shots had spread throughout his entire body, causing massive internal damage, shattering bones and rupturing organs. These injuries should have been fatal, even for a Plant, yet for some reason he wasn't dead.

Anger welled up inside him, at Vash, at the humans, and at himself. He forced his mouth to open, his body shaking, and let out a furious cry of rage. The cry was a primal sound, containing in it all the madness and hatred that writhed inside him. The pain increased tenfold, like iron spikes being driven through his chest, and he passed out, yet his scream still continued, his insanity driving his body.

When he came to, he felt as if he was drowning, his lungs clogged and heavy. He coughed and tasted blood.

"You tore your stitches," A voice calmly told him. "You should be more careful."

Knives turned his head to the left, wincing at the pain. Vash was sitting in a chair at the side of his bed, a concerned expression on his face. Knives glared coldly at his brother. "You should… have let… me die…" He managed to gasp.

"That might be true," Vash said solemnly, "But it's not something I'm prepared to do."

"This changes… nothing…" Knives uttered. "You'll suffer… for this…" He once again fell unconscious. Vash took a last look at the heavily-bandaged body of his brother, and turned to leave the room.

Meryl was standing at the door, watching them. It had been nearly a week since Vash had returned to town, carrying his comatose brother on his shoulder. He hadn't spoken about Knives even once since he got back, disarming all questions with goofy jokes or comments about the weather.

Meryl gathered that Knives was the one who had sent the Gung-Ho Guns after them, but other than that, she knew very little about the paler-haired brother.

"Vash…" She said softly. He tried to walk past her without stopping, but she grabbed hold of his coat sleeve. "Vash, why won't you talk about this?"

Vash gave the insurance girl an apologetic look, but then grinned. "Lovely weather today, you shouldn't be inside on--"

"Stop it." Meryl looked up into his green eyes. "I want to help you, I really do, but you keep shutting me out. Won't you let me help you?"

"It's not something you should have to be concerned with," Vash said softly. "It's my responsibility."

Meryl glanced at the sleeping body of Knives. "Something happened between you in the past, didn't it? Something bad."

Vash was silent for a few moments. "It was a long time ago. He killed several people who were important to me, and I couldn't do anything to stop him…" He paused again, "I forgave him for that, but now I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"I want to save him," Vash confessed, "But I'm scared that I won't be able to. I don't want him to hurt anyone else."

"I'll help you take care of him, and I'm sure Milly will too," The short girl reassured him. "Don't worry, together we'll definitely be able to save him."

Meryl was shocked as Vash suddenly hugged her. There had been a time when she would have completely overreacted to an action like that, but now she just let him, if somewhat embarrassed by it.

"Thank you," Vash whispered, releasing her.

"Eh heh…" Meryl laughed self-consciously. "Let's go get something to eat."

The spiky-haired man brightened up almost instantly. "Yeah, I'm starving!"

As Vash and Meryl left the house, they saw Milly walking towards them, wearing a building worker's helmet. After helping dig the town well, Milly had gotten a part-time job working for a construction firm that was expanding the small town. Being freakishly strong gave her a big advantage in the field.

Milly saw them and waved. "Senpai! Mr Vash!"

"Hello Milly," Meryl waved back. "We were just going to get some food, want to come?"

"That's great!" Milly smiled. "Mr Douglas is having a barbeque, he said we should drop by." Mr Douglas was the kindly old man who owned the town's general store. He had quickly become friends with the trio, and had leased them the house in which they were staying.

As they walked towards the general store, people waved and smiled to them in greeting. Word had quickly gotten round that the legendary gunman Vash the Stampede was staying in town, yet here, unlike many other towns he had passed through, no one had tried to capture or kill him.

Northwood was a place for starting afresh, and the townspeople would accept anyone, regardless of their past or reputation. Vash had spent most of his life travelling, hiding or running away, and being able to live in a single place, without having to hide his identity, was something he'd rarely experienced before.

He felt more at home there than anywhere before, and hoped that it would last forever, but thoughts of Knives nagged at his mind. If Knives fully recovered, he might reduce this town to ashes in seconds. Vash prayed that he would be able to convince his brother to accept humans, if not… he didn't know what he would do.

**To be continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Knives awoke again to the unfamiliar ceiling. He was in less pain now, his injuries healing, but at a delayed rate due to his depleted energy. He turned his head, expecting to see Vash still hovering over him, but he was alone in the room.

On the nightstand next to his bed was a glass of water. Knives realised that he was incredibly thirsty, he couldn't remember the last time he had drunk anything.

His right arm was encased in a plaster cast, but his left was only bandaged. He reached out for the glass, his arm feeling like it was made out of lead. He gasped at the exertion, his muscles aching, but refused to give up. As his fingertips touched the side of the glass, his arm spasmed, knocking it. The glass wobbled precariously on the edge of the table, and then fell to the floor and smashed.

Knives cursed. He couldn't do anything with his body like this.

The door opened and a short, black-haired woman rushed in. She saw the broken glass and displayed a look of relief, as if she had been expecting something worse. Knives stared at her, for a second he though he was seeing a hallucination. The girl was almost the exact image of Rem, the woman who had raised him and Vash.

"I'll get you another," She said, and hurried out of the room. A moment later she came back, carrying a new glass of water.

Knives' initial surprise was replaced with disgust. "I don't need… your help… human…"

The girl frowned. "You're not in any condition to refuse." She sat down next to him and held the glass to his mouth, her expression softening. "Go on, drink it."

Knives drank a few sips, but his body demanded more. He ended up gulping down the entire glassful. He choked on the last mouthful and went into a coughing fit, which sent new pain exploding through his body.

When he recovered, he saw that the girl was looking at him worriedly. "Don't waste…" He found he could talk a bit better now. "Don't waste your pity on me, human."

She frowned again. "My name's Meryl. Stop calling me 'human' like there's something wrong with that."

Meryl had suspected that Vash wasn't human for quite a while, so Knives' words didn't come as a surprise, though she was a little saddened that Vash hadn't told her himself.

She then set about replacing some of Knives' bandages. Knives remained silent and turned his head away, refusing to acknowledge what she was doing.

Meryl saw that his wounds were considerably less serious that when Vash had first brought him in. She thought of the scars that Vash had on his body, and wondered why he didn't heal them in the same way.

"Why do you help me?" Knives asked when she was finished. "I hate your species, I'd destroy you all if I could. You should just let me die."

Meryl softly shook her head. "Vash wants to save you, so that's enough reason for me."

"Why?" Knives pressed. "I don't understand."

"Because I care about him, and he'd be sad if you died." She didn't speak further for a few moments. "He wouldn't tell me much about what you did to him in the past, but he says he's forgiven you for it."

"Forgiven me…?" Knives was speechless. Conflicting emotions seemed to flash across his face, but suddenly they were replaced with a mask of fury.

"Forgiven me?!" He snarled, "I don't want his forgiveness! I'd do everything again. Everything!" Meryl was taken aback by the ferocity of his words. "This world was meant to be a paradise for me and him, but he wouldn't accept it! He chose the spiders over the butterflies!" As Knives pointed an accusing finger at her, Meryl could see the madness in his eyes. "It's all your fault, Rem! Your fault!"

Meryl stepped back from the bed, scared and confused by Knives' outburst. Knives blinked, suddenly as confused as she was. Why had he gotten so angry? Emotions were a human trait, he had spent years conditioning himself not to let them affect his judgement. And why had he called this girl Rem? Rem was long dead, and while this human had similarities to her, she certainly wasn't the same person.

For a second, he felt the impulse to apologise, but he dispelled it. The thought of apologising to a human was ridiculous. Instead, he closed his eyes, sinking into his pillow. "Leave me," He said quietly.

Meryl hesitated for a moment, but then did as he said and left. Alone in the room, Knives drifted into sleep.

* * *

Meryl found Vash sitting on a bench in the town square. He was slouched back in the seat, looking up at the sky. Meryl simply watched him for a while, thinking how peaceful he looked.

"Why don't you come sit down?" The brush-haired man asked, without averting his eyes from the sky. Meryl blushed, realising that he had known she was watching him all along. "Doughnut?" He offered, indicating the paper bag by his side as she sat down.

"I don't really like them, to be honest," Meryl answered apologetically.

Vash shrugged. "Your loss." He took one from the bag and stuffed it into his mouth. "Mmnn, mmnn! These are great!" He said through a mouthful of crumbs. He reached into the bag and pulled out another.

"Vash, your brother…" Meryl started. The doughnut paused on its way to the man's mouth. "There's something wrong with him, isn't there? It's not just his injuries, it's something in his head."

Vash put his doughnut back in the bag, he lowered his eyes from the sky to look at the insurance girl. "It's my fault, partly," He stated, a sad look in his eyes. "I should have noticed it when we were growing up. There were hints, but I never recognised them until it was too late."

"He called me Rem," Meryl told him. "Who is that?"

Vash looked surprised to hear that name. He leaned back again and smiled. "Rem was the woman who raised us."

Meryl was intrigued. Vash had never spoken about this side of his past before. "What was she like?" She asked him.

Vash closed his eyes, recalling fond memories. "She was kind and smart and beautiful." He hummed a few bars of a certain tune, then turned back to her. "She was a lot like you, actually."

Meryl blushed again. Vash pretended not to notice.

"She was the closest thing I had to a mother," He continued. "She taught me how wonderful life really is. I owe everything to her."

He started humming the tune again. Meryl recognised the song. It was very old, having been around for even longer than humans had lived on this world. She realised she knew the lyrics, even though she couldn't remember learning them.

Very quietly, she began to sing. _"So… On the first night, a pebble falls to the earth from somewhere…"_

To her surprise, Vash began to sing as well, and they sung the second verse together. _"So… On the second night, the pebble's children hold hands and sketch a waltz. Sound life…"_

* * *

Knives was dreaming. In his dream, he was a black spider, waiting at the centre of a web. A yellow butterfly became entangled in the web, and he creeped towards it. He held no malice towards the butterfly, it was simply a case of survival. As he got closer, a dark shadow loomed over him and he was suddenly afraid. He looked up and saw a younger version of himself reaching down to crush him. He tried to escape, but the giant hands closed around. He felt a weight crushing down on his chest, making it difficult to breathe.

He awoke with a heaving gasp, and found himself looking into a pair of yellow eyes. "Miao!" Declared Kuroneko-sama, sitting on his chest.

Knives stared at the cat, unsure of what it wanted. Tired of waiting, the animal clawed his nose and scampered away, running between the feet of someone standing in the doorway. Knives looked up from the feet to see a tall, brown-haired woman, carrying a tray with a bowl on it.

"Sorry, she does that sometimes," The tall girl said, referring to the cat. "Mr Vash seems to be the only one who can understand her."

Having only just gotten his breath back, Knives said nothing.

"Anyway," She smiled, "Meryl-senpai and Mr Vash seemed to having such a nice time, and I didn't want to disturb them, so I brought you some food." She sat down next to the bed and placed the tray on the nightstand.

"I'm not hungry," Knives said indifferently, but he could smell aroma coming from the bowl, and it was making his mouth water. A noisy rumbling exposed his lie.

"Your stomach says differently," The girl laughed. "I'm Milly Thompson. Pleased to meet you."

This human was different to the first. Meryl had seemed nervous around him, she probably had an idea of what he was capable of, but this woman was completely unworried, which Knives found somewhat disarming.

Milly took a spoonful of the soup that was in the bowl and held it up to Knives' mouth.

"What are you doing?" He asked in surprise. "I can do that myself!" But as he tried to move his arm, he found that his muscles had cramped. He tried again, physically straining to move it, not wanting to become any more dependant on humans than he already was, but aside from a few twitches, his arm was unresponsive.

He sighed and resigned himself to being spoon-fed. As revoltingly pathetic as it was, he couldn't refuse it if he wanted to survive.

The soup was surprisingly delicious, Knives couldn't remember the last time he had eaten food this good. The human noticed his reaction to it.

"Do you like it?" Milly asked. "I made it myself."

Knives realised he'd have to make a positive comment if he wanted her to keep feeding him. "It's very good," He said, somewhat woodenly. Complimenting people wasn't something he was used to. Nevertheless, the girl beamed at his words.

"I'm glad you like it," She smiled.

Knives decided that he would endure these humans for as long as he had to. They were still his enemy, and as soon as he recovered, he would destroy them all. This time, he wouldn't let his brother to stop him.

But for now, this soup really was very good.

_To be continued…_


End file.
